Perpetual Tire Thread

["Tom Brown" <tbrown@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

List:

>~Trouble with Metz Z6..."

>Im very happy with the Pilots; however, I dont have many miles on them.
>Does anyone have any experience with the new Avon Storm?

You know, I haven't read a tire thread in a couple years.   Sometimes they're
appropriate.   If I hadn't read this, I wouldn't know that Avon is coming out
with a new tire.

AVON:  I'm very impressed with the new Avon all season tires I put on my Audi.
I bought the car with a set of new P6's on it and wasn't overjoyed with them.
I went to www.tirerack.com and read some reviews and the Avons were getting by
far the best feedback from customers of any tire.   I had the tire place put
my P6s in nice plastic bags and they're sitting in my basement waiting for
trade-in time.   Based on my experience with these new breed Avons, I think I
may try the Storms next if they're available in my size.  Avon seems to be on
a quiet roll with a new breed of tire technology.  I'd try a set just to see
if it's spilled into the motorcycle tires.

METZ Z6:   Everyone should try one set of these on their RT to see just how
good a tire can work on a bike.   They're the best for handling period.  Good
in wet although logic says they shouldn't be because of no tread in the middle
of the rear tire.   I guess the front tire clears a path in the rain for the
rears???  Anyway, I've never had any hydroplane problems with them.    The
complaint about the lack of tread wear indication is valid if you're averse to
riding on cords.   I've been to many perfomance driver's schools in BMWs and
have corded many a tire on the race track.   Even in severe duty like that,
you have plenty left to get home on if you take it a little easy.    I've gone
500+ miles home on corded Z6s.   That said, they're not as much fun to ride
when they start to wear out and get squared off.

METZ Z4:  These are also great tires when new, but I've had a lot of flat
tires (punctures) on the rears for some reason and the "no fun when sqared
off" problem is worse than Z6.  Good tire for hill country, but not for flat
interstates.

BRIDGESTONE  020:  I've got the most experience with these.   They are nice
handling tires.  They don't stick quite as well as the Z6s or have quite as
much feel, but they can still be pushed pretty hard and they last a little
longer.  The 020 is the best rear tire in the business.   The fronts do tend
to cup and make noise when you tip them into a turn, but I've never found this
to actually hurt the handling.   My R1200RT came with these tires.  I switched
to Z6s for a couple sets and now I'm back to these.   I like them a lot for
touring and general riding around.  I live in Chicago, so hill country takes a
while to find from here.   I like these tires because, even squared off, they
will turn in pretty well, so you get to have decent handling for the life of
the tires.

BRIDGESTONE BT54:  These tires do not stick as well as the others here.   They
also seem to behave badly when squared.  I don't think the trade-offs are
worth it for an extra few miles per tire.

BT57:  We used to get phenomenal mileage and great handling from these on our
1100RTs.  They aren't available anymore  The fronts have the same cupping
issues as the 020s.

PIRELLI:  I tried a set of their mildest radial tire (Dragon?  Scorpion?) on a
Ducati ST4 I once had on a dealer's recommendation.  They lasted a long
time...could have been the bike's doing.   They handled decently and felt
pretty good.   I traded the bike before I could try another brand for
comparison.

Metzler ME880:  A friend has an 1150 RT.  He tried a set of the radials on his
bike.   The rear didn't last any longer than his normal Z6s.   The fronts last
forever.  I just worked on his bike.  He had 11K on the tires and the fronts
looked new.  He said the tires were decent handlers and pretty good in the
rain too.    I think the bias ply ME's are the mileage kings, but not the
radials.

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